Political uncertainty drags bourses

Markets across Europe were defined by red numbers as major bourses, without exception, gave up ground.

Uncertainty surrounding the position of Greece in the eurozone ahead of June 17 elections and the pressure on the Spanish banking system continued to be at the forefront of

investors minds. The ISEQ index followed the continent-wide trend by dropping 1.26%, or 39.76 points, to close the session at 3103.

Irish banks were relatively stable again, as both Bank of Ireland and Irish Life & Permanent held their own to finish at 8.7c and 3c respectively. AIB was a slight laggard, losing 0.3c to 6.4c. However, in relative terms, this represents a fall of 4.5%. Irish insurer FBD Holdings gained 7c to 8.17.

Construction stocks were off across the board, with CRH the worst performer as its share price fell almost 3% to 14.075. Grafton Group and Kingspan followed suit, closing down 8c and 14.5c respectively at 2.82 and 6.956.

Elsewhere, food producer Kerry Group performed well, tacking on 37.5c to 34.65.